$5 million isn’t enough to lure me into using a Sony phone — James Bond

April 27, 2015

When $5 million isn’t enough money to hold a phone, you know you’ve made it both as an actor and as a producer. Sony offered that princely sum for James Bond actor Daniel Craig to be photographed holding Sony’s flagship Xperia Z4, but the offer was turned down. The Sony leak gives us new insights into the proposed deal and what objections the man who plays Bond had to the product placement.

Emails published Thursday on Wikileaks outline the process Sony and the Bond team went through in discussing the new device and its role in the James Bond universe. The emails outline the offer as such: “Today … Sony Electronics has so far budgeted the following: $18MM ATL Advertising commitment [and] $ 5MM Daniel Craig FEE.” However, that wasn’t enough to tempt Craig or the rest of the film’s crew.

It’s important to remember for context that in the latest James Bond installment Skyfall, Craig was sporting an Xperia T.

So if Sony got its handset into Skyfall, whats the hold up for Spectre? Andrew Gumpert answers that question in an email revealing the thinking behind turning down the Xperia Z4.

“Beyond the $$ factor, there is, as you may know, a creative factor whereby Sam and Daniel don’t like the Sony phone for the film (the thinking, subjectively/objectively is that James Bond only uses the ‘best,’ and in their minds, the Sony phone is not the ‘best’),” the email reads. “Having said that, David said if Sony made a fair market offer, that Barbara, armed with a ‘solid’ financial proposal would go to work on Sam and Daniel and get this pushed through creatively. He obviously can’t guarantee that result (and he said as much), but he seemed very genuine and forthright on our call.”

According to the emails, it seems that Samsung outbid Sony’s $18 million marketing commitment with a $50 million offer of their own. There is, however, no confirmation or email giving a clear picture of what brand James Bond will be using in the new film. All we know is the offer of $5 million and an $18 million marketing commitment don’t mean diddly squat, if you just don’t have that cool factor.

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